August 2014
Read the letter
One month ahead of the 2014 Climate Summit, CPJ wrote to Prime Minster Stephen Harper asking him to attend the summit and present new ideas that will effectively tackle climate change, such as promised regulations on the oil and gas sector or Canada’s contribution of $400 million annually to the UN’s Green Climate Fund​.Â
By enacting strict GHG emissions standards across the entire oil and gas sector, our federal government can both fulfill its promises and care for the environment.
Enhancing the WITB would remove some significant disincentives to paid work in the formal economy, ease pressure on social assistance, and lift working adults out of poverty.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist
By BillMcKibben
Times Books, 2013
Reviewed by Mishka Lysack
First, a confession. I’ve re-read Bill McKibben’s Oil and Honey not twice but three times. Why? McKibben’s most recent book is a compelling and deeply engaging journey into environmental activism and creation advocacy. It’s also timely, as public discussions about the environment, pipelines and coal, and accelerating climate change are on the rise.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word: A Different Take on Taxes in Canada
Edited by Alex Himelfarb and Jordan Himelfarb
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2013
Reviewed by Dennis Howlett
Who would have thought that a book about taxes would make for some very interesting summer reading? But Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word, edited by father and son team of Alex and Jordan Himelfarb, is just that. This collection of essays covers a broad range of topics. It looks at how important our tax system is to the kind of society we create and how it can be used to reduce inequality and fight climate change.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
Shopping for Votes: How Politicians Choose Us and We Choose Them
By Susan Delacourt
Douglas and McIntyre, 2013
Reviewed Katherine Scott
Susan Delacourt has written an illuminating and evocative book about the drift of consumer culture into Canadian politics – where voters no longer think of themselves as citizens but as taxpayers who shop among politicians for those who target their individual needs at the lowest cost.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever
By Maude Barlow
House of Anansi Press, 2013
Reviewed by Sheila McKinley osu
​Maude Barlow’s Blue Future is global in scope, incisive in analysis, and challenging at every turn. The third book in her series on water (preceded by Blue Gold and Blue Covenant) stands well on its own. Barlow alerts us to the devastating effects of the bottled water industry, industrial farming, mining operations, power generation, and a water-intensive consumer lifestyle, all of which seriously threaten what we once thought of as a limitless resource.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
Jesus on Justice: Living Lives of Compassion and Conviction
By Don Posterski
World Vision Canada, 2013
Reviewed by Karri Munn-Venn
​Jesus on Justice offers a clear and compelling illustration of our Christian calling to seek justice and love mercy by modeling our lives on Jesus. Understanding that “Jesus was a cultural maverick, a social revolutionary and a religious innovator,” this “biblical action guide” addresses a range of issues through the lenses of exclusion, prejudice, power, and advocacy.
From The Catalyst Summer 2014
On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good
By Jim Wallis
Brazos Press, 2013
Reviewed by Brad Wassink
In On God’s Side, Jim Wallis delivers a thorough reproach of religious leaders across the political spectrum.
Wallis uses the common good to show that in order to solve the crises of our time, we need people of faith to get more, not less, involved in the political process.
